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EU-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement: Guidance document on rules of origin. A short check
EU Commission published the “EU-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement: Guidance document on rules of origin”. In this document, it is stated that, in line with the European approach to FTA negotiation, the proof of origin can be either: − a statement on origin completed by the exporter on an invoice, or any other document including a commercial document, or − knowledge obtained and held by the importer that the goods are originating (importer’s knowledge). Without proof of origin it is not possible to claim for the preferential origin. Moreover, it is important to add that the European importer is responsible for the correctness of the claim and for compliance with…
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CETA: another stop. The French Senate did not ratify CETA
The free trade agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada, which came into force provisionally in September 2017, aims to delete duties on approximately 99% of products produced between the two signatory customs territories. From EU side the CETA mus be rafied by:a) EU Parliament; b) the parliaments of all the member states. In this context, French Senate deleted in a proposal of law the article which should allow the ratification of the mentioned agreement. According to the declaration, published in the official website, you find below the reason of this approach is that it is important to protect the EU farmers from other competitors (Canadians or South Americans for…
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EU Chile free trade agreement modernization: about to enter into force
On 18 March 2024 the EU Council relased the following communiqué: “…EU-Chile: Council gives final endorsement to bilateral trade agreement The Council today adopted the decision on the conclusion of the Interim Agreement on trade (iTA) between the European Union and Chile. This decision marks the end of the internal ratification process within the EU and paves the way for the entry into force of the deal…”. It means that the iTA only requires ratification by the EU and not by individual member states. Therefore, now that the Council has validated the iTA, it can enter into force as soon as the Chilean side completes its internal ratification process. Apart…
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1° of May 2024 free trade agreement EU and New Zealand will enter into force
After some negotiations round, 1° of May 2024 free trade agreement EU and New Zealand will enter into force. Mr. Todd McClay (Trade and Agriculture Minister of New Zealand) said: “..I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union of our ratification of the New Zealand European Union Free Trade Agreement (NZ-EUFTA). This enables the agreement to come into force earlier than expected, from 1 May 2024,” . The European Council in its “Notice concerning the date of entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and New Zealand” on 25.03.2024 declared that “…The Free…
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Published the European decision for the approval of the FTA with New Zealand. After the ratification of New Zealand, does a sustainable trade will take over?
The decision of the European Council 2024/244 of 27 November 2023 on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and New Zealand, lays down that “…Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and New Zealand (‘the Agreement’) is hereby approved on behalf of the Union…”. This decision has been published on 28 February 2024. From the other side, it is interesing to undeline that New Zealand needs to pass implementing legislation in order to ratify the agreement. In the official web site of the New Zealand Government it is declared: “…A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA)…
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CBAM, updated frequently questions and answer for a compliance check
On 28 February 2024 the European Commission published the new CBAM frequently questions & answers (FAQ) which modify the points n. 10, 12, 27, 28, 30, 44, 50, 56, 68, 91, 92, 99 of their last version. In particular, the new point n.10: QUESTION N.10: “Does the CBAM apply to ‘returned goods’? ANSWER N.10: “Returned goods are goods defined in Article 203 of the Union Customs Code (Regulation (EU) No 952/2013). They are goods that are released for free circulation and benefit from duty exemption because they were Union goods before, either because they have originally been exported as Union goods or because they were previously released for free circulation,…
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AEO and EU Customs union reform: EU Parliament report 20 February 2024
As we informed on 2023 the European Commission published on the official journal the “Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority, and repealing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013”. About the AEO, the mentioned document (n. Document 52023PC0258 and COM/2023/258 final) provides with the following provisions. Firstly, about the “ex-post evluation/fitness checks of existing legislation” indicated into the explanotry memorandum “…the proposal undelines that “…Second, some tangible progress in improving the customs environment has been realised but does not evenly concern all the areas analysed in the evaluation. The UCC contributed to clarifying and harmonising customs…
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EAC, Kenya and EU: Economic Partnership Agreement with a specific focus on sustainable development
On 8 December 2023, Eu Commission published the draft of the “Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union, of the one part, and the Republic of Kenya, Member of the East African Community, of the other part” by means of the interinstitutional Files 2023/0337 (NLE) and 2023/0338 (NLE). This agreement will cover the following topics: (a) general provisions; (b) trade in goods; (c) fisheries; (d) agriculture; (e) economic and development cooperation; (f) institutional provisions; (g) dispute avoidance and settlement; (h) general exceptions; (i) general and final provisions; and (j) Annexes, Protocols and Joint Statements. Before going deeper with the short check of the available documents, it is useful to recall…
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European artificial intelligence act and customs implications
On 9 December 2023 the European Commission published a press release on the “political agreement on Artificial Intelligence Act”. According to this document: “…The new rules will be applied directly in the same way across all Member States, based on a future-proof definition of AI….” By following a risk-based approach for which there are two main categories of risks: Minimal risk: “…The vast majority of AI systems fall into the category of minimal risk. Minimal risk applications such as AI-enabled recommender systems or spam filters will benefit from a free-pass and absence of obligations, as these systems present only minimal or no risk for citizens’ rights or safety. On a…
- accise e imposte di consumo, circular economy, compliance e AEO, energie rinnovabili, free trade agreement
EU-Chile modernized free trade agreement
On 4 December 2023, the European Council adopted: Advanced Framework Agreement (AFA) about: health, the environment, climate change, ocean governance, energy, tax, education and culture, labour, employment and social affairs, science and technology and transport; interim Trade Agreement (iTA) on raw materials and clean fuel such as lithium, copper and hydrogen, which are crucial for the transition to the green economy. Both the agreements with Chile constitute an updated version of the EU-Chile Association Agreement currently in place. Nadia Calviño declared: “…The EU-Chile Trade Agreement will reinforce the EU’s open strategic autonomy and economic security, strengthening the resilience of supply chains and diversifying imports of key inputs for the green…